The primary purposes of the MSE in Literacy with a Dyslexia Endorsement this program are to 1) prepare reading specialists/literacy coaches/interventionists with advanced knowledge, strategies, leadership skills and professional dispositions that will allow them to work with struggling readers and writers, assist other classroom teachers in various aspects of teaching, and lead the reading/literacy program in the public schools and other institutions; 2) help classroom teachers improve their reading/literacy instruction. The program is designed to meet the performance standards of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the International Literacy Association (ILA), the International Dyslexia Association, and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Program Requirements:
- Admission into the MSE program will be selective and competitive. Contact the Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education or visit the department’s website (https://uca.edu/else/) for program details.
- In addition to the general application and GPA requirements of the UCA Graduate School, applicants seeking an Arkansas Reading Specialist K–12 license must hold a valid standard Arkansas educator license. Individuals who have an out-of-state educator license and wish to hold an Arkansas Reading Specialist K–12 license, please contact the program coordinator.
- Applicants to the MSE in Literacy with Dyslexia Endorsement program will be required to submit this form, signed by their principal or superintendent. Individuals not currently teaching, please contact the program coordinator.
- Individuals not holding a teaching license are eligible for admission into the MSE program, but they will not be eligible for an Arkansas Reading Specialist K–12 license, as the license is considered an endorsement to an Arkansas teaching license in a general education area. Individuals not holding a valid standard Arkansas license must submit two letters of reference from practicing professionals who can speak to the candidate’s knowledge, performance, dispositions, and capability to complete a master’s program.
- Graduate candidates who enter the program without having previously completed both parts of an approved Arkansas Department of Education Prescribed Proficiency Pathway must take an additional 6 credit hours of coursework—ELSE 6348 Multisensory Approach to Language I and ELSE 6349 Multisensory Approach to Language II—prior to enrolling in further coursework.
- With approval, a maximum of six hours may be transferred from another institution of higher education. These six hours cannot be part of the 15 hours of dyslexia endorsement courses and must be approved by the program coordinator.
- Students must complete the Praxis test for Reading Specialists and submit documentation of the score prior to graduation.
- Students must complete the Knowledge and Practice Examination for Effective Reading Instruction (KPEERI) and submit documentation of the score prior to graduation.
*For more program details and additional admission requirements please request information below.
Program Contact:
Amy Thompson
Graduate Program Coordinator
(501) 450-5458
athompson@uca.edu
CONTACT UCA ONLINE
ucaonline@uca.edu
(501) 852-UCAO (8226)